Background

Every year 1.5 million kilos of chewing gum finds its way on to the streets of the Netherlands. Non-profit organisation Amsterdam Metropolitan Area wanted to create awareness about the gum litter problem amongst gum users. Cleaning the gum costs Dutch municipalities millions of euros. It takes 20 to 25 years before chewing gum is completely gone and many animals suffocate in the waste. This time we needed something more specific to get the attention of our target group. With a total budget of €5.000 we launched 500 pairs of Gumshoes and showed people the whole process in a short and snappy “How it’s made” video.

Describe the creative idea

We discovered gum is made from a synthetic rubber. What makes it a suitable material to manufacture new products. So, we collected gum from all over Amsterdam and turned this useless waste into something useful. We created a product people actually want from something no one cares about: The first sneaker ever made from chewing gum. Bubble gum pink to bring across our message in the clearest and most eye-catching way. Our refreshing design functioned as a vehicle to share our story through all different kinds of media. We made use of a technologically advanced process of gum recycling and combined this with a tailor-made design that perfectly matched the idea. In collaboration with a local shoe brand we developed our design. We specifically looked for an up-and-coming shoe brand which was already hot amongst youngsters. The combination of these two elements made our product worth sharing.

Describe the execution

We wanted to bring across our message about gum litter with a product. We used something our target audience already love: sneakers. Together with a local shoe brand we designed a shoe that would be eye-catching and make a statement at the same time. We used chewing gum from the streets of Amsterdam to produce a new type of rubber together with a specialized company. Its bubble-gum pink colour became the common thread through our campaign. On every TV show, platform, Facebook post or tweet we wanted the design to stand out. Its sole and Amsterdam’s symbol created a link with the city and the origin of the problem we wanted to point out. There are already hundreds of Gumshoes in production and other major cities like London, New York and Berlin already showed their interest.

List the results

Within a week the website got flooded with pre-orders and we reached over 600.000.000 unique persons with our message. From Germany to Ukraine and from China to the US people heard about Gumshoe. The Gumshoes were sold within a week. Sportlife, the largest chewing gum producer in the Netherlands, will partner with us and finance upcoming campaigns against gum litter and we have just signed with Asics to produce Gumshoes around the world. Starting with New York, London and Tokyo. With this initiative, we didn’t just try to solve the problem, but also make people think about the fact how to treat their city and environment with respect.